The so-called "door light" is a window mounted in a door. This "door light" may employ only a single fixed pane, or it may employ upper and lower sashes in a manner similar to a conventional window with the lower sash being movable into an open position.
Typically, door lights are manufactured separately from the doors in which they are mounted. The door is manufactured, and an opening is formed therein, following which the door light is mounted within the opening. The door light typically employs inner and outer frames which fit into the opening from opposite sides thereof. Many doors, however, particularly doors typically utilized in residences, are formed by a thin sheet metal skin which surrounds a rigid core of foamed plastics material. The plastics material can be foamed in place between the front and rear metal skins, or a sliced foam slab can be used to fabricate the unit. Due to this manufacturing process, it is difficult to maintain a precise door thickness. However, since the conventional door light frame is generally designed for a specified door thickness, these frames have necessarily been oversized, and hence have generally required a flexible seal structure along the edges thereof to compensate for door thickness while still permitting a proper seal to be achieved with the front face of the door. This type door light hence lacks the flexibility desired with respect to permitting its mounting on doors of not only substantial variation in thickness tolerances, but on different models of doors which have substantially different thicknesses.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved door light, specifically a door light having both an upper and a lower sash, the lower sash being slidably movable between opened and closed positions, which door light overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages.
More specifically, this invention relates to an improved door light having structural and functional features which significantly improve the manufacture, installation and operation of the door light.
A further object is to provide an improved door light, as aforesaid, wherein the frame permits the door light to readily accommodate substantial variations in door thickness while still permitting the frame of the door light to be securely and sealingly mounted within the door light opening.
A still further object is to provide an improved door light, as aforesaid, having improved water drainage, adjustability, and increased strength to both facilitate installation and resist forced entry.
The improved door light of this invention includes exterior and interior frames each of a substantially rectangular configuration. These frames each have outer flanges which overlap and contact the respective face or skin of the door. The frames are inserted into the door opening from opposite sides thereof, and the exterior frame is molded of a plastics material as an integral, one-piece, rectangular element having a rearwardly projecting tubular portion which slidably telescopes into a tubular portion defined by the interior frame. The interior and exterior frames slidably telescope until the flanges thereof abut the respective door faces, thereby accommodating variable door widths, with the interior and exterior frames being fixed together by fasteners such as screws. The one-piece, exterior frame has a downwardly and forwardly sloped upper surface along the lower horizontal frame element, which lower horizontal frame element has an integral rear wall projecting upwardly behind the rear or inner sash, whereby all drainage occurs along the sloped upper surface so that interior drainage holes and the like are wholly eliminated. Appropriate spring-urged guide tracks are secured along the vertical sides of the frame and define outer and inner channels, with a top sash being stationarily fixed within the upper end of the outer channel, and a lower sash being slidably supported within the inner channel. Each sash employs a pane disposed within a molded frame structure formed by interfitting inner and outer rectangular frames, the outer frame being a one-piece member.
Other objects and purposes of the invention will be apparent to persons familiar with structures of this type upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.